Odd Pair: Crawfish Boudin and Old Barossa Blend

Boudin reminds us of sitting on Bourbon Street on a hot, swampy night listening to a little Zydeco with an ice-cold Abita. Beer and boudin is a perfect combo, like peanut butter and jelly. To spice things up a bit, we might opt for a Sazerac or a Hurricane, but definitely not wine. Nothing about wine appeals to us on humid nights with spicy Cajun food. But, we are not on Bourbon Street, and it's winter, so maybe we are in luck. Stranger pairings have happened.

We were so excited to find good crawfish boudin at Spec's. When we asked the wine consultant what to pair it with, he said the Winter Creek Old Barossa Blend 2005 without missing a beat. Maybe this wasn't such an odd pairing after all. We were sure boudin was more of a beer food. But we've been wrong before.

"The lush, soft tannins will balance the spiciness of the boudin," the wine consultant explained. At around $25, he wine was a little bit more than we like to spend on odd pairings, but Wine Spectator gave it 88 points, so it couldn't be all bad.

The smooth, jammy red wine was a perfect complement to the spicy crawfish boudin. No beer required here. The medium-bodied wine tasted like cherries and raspberries. It was definitely drinkable, but we preferred it with food. And this heavier red begged for comfort food like boudin, or maybe pizza. With the boudin, the wine became mellower and a bit sweeter. We even snuck in some Godiva chocolate truffles, which was equally delicious.

Although we probably can't give up our Abita and boudin for good, we definitely found a new Australian favorite.